Korea initiates anti-dumping investigation on Chinese-origin plates

The investigation concerns hot-rolled carbon and alloy steel plates thicker than 4.75 mm and smaller than 600 mm, classified under various HS codes: 7208.51.1000, 7208.51.9000, 7208.52.1000, 7208.52.9000, 7225.40.9010, 7225.40.9091, and 7225.40.9099. The preliminary investigation is expected to last three months. The dumping investigation period is from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, while the injury investigation covers January 1, 2021, to June 30, 2024.

This investigation was initiated following Hyundai Steel's claim that Korea's domestic steel industry has suffered significant harm due to dumped imports. The alleged dumping margin has been set at 25.89%. The five suppliers under investigation—Shagang International Singapore Pte. Ltd, Sino Commodities International Pte. Ltd, Howa Trading Co. Ltd, Xisc Singapore Pte. Ltd, and Xiamen ITG AI Cloud Solutions Co. Ltd—accounted for 58.81% of relevant shipments from China to Korea.

According to Chinese customs data, by August 2023, China exported 119,491 tons of plates thicker than 50 mm and 475,651 tons of plates between 10 and 20 mm in thickness. The first group’s shipments dropped by 30% to 83,277 tons during the January-August period, while no records were available for the second group.